op columbus



G. E. DURELL DISPLAY RACK Oct. 29, 1929.

Filed Aug. 14. 1928 Get. 29, 1929 PATENT OFFICE GEORGE EDWARD DURELL, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE UNION FORK & HOE COMPANY, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO DISPLAY BACK Application filed August 14, 1328.

My invention relates to display racks and relates particularly to racks adapted for the display of farm and garden tools, and the like.

An object of my invention is to provide a display rack suitable for holding and displaying a large number of garden tools or the like which will occupy relatively small space in a store which will be light in weight so that a clerk may readily move it to different positions in the store, which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and which is sufliciently sturdy that it will not be readily damaged by the hard usage to which display racks are likely to be subjected in stores of the kind selling garden tools.

Another object of my invention is to provide a display rack of the character mentioned suitable for the display of a large number of handled tools and providing sockets for separately receiving the handles near the tool supporting ends thereof and also at the butt portions of the handles in such a way as not to interfere with a free view of the handles and the tool ends of the tools when the tools are in the rack.

Another object of my invention is to provide a rack of the above character which may be readily assembled and disassembled from its component parts by the use of unskilled which is an embodiment of my invention, to-

gether with a number of gardening tools indicated in position by dotted lines.

Fig. 2 is an isometric view of fragments of an npper end portion of the superstructure as and nipporting frame standard therefor, the

Serial No. 299,512.

latter being shown as separated from the former.

Fig. 3 is an isometric view of a fragment of a supporting frame standard together with a fragment of the superstructure, a receptacle for advertising matter being illustrated as being supported adjacent the superstructure on the standard.

at is an isometric view of one of a pair of supporting bases together with fragments of a standard adapted to be secured thereto together with an end fragment of a tool handle support, both ends of which are adapted to be secured within the standards extending transversely therebetween at a level spaced from the floor upon which the bases are adapted to rest.

Referring now to the different figures of drawing in all of which like parts are designated by like reference characters, the display rack of my invention is one particularly applicable for the display of gardeners tools, and to be used in a hardware or implement store for the display of such tools offered for sale.

It comprises essentially a pair of bases 1 and 2, preferably made of sheet metal in a manner best illustrated in Fig. 4:, together with a pair of standards 3 and a, and a handle support 17, said standards secured at their lower ends preferably by bolts to the bases, and a superstructure 7, bolted as at 8, to the upper ends of the standards. The bases 1 and 2 are alike and comprise a sheet metal plate having integral border flanges 9 to 13 inclusivc deflected inwardly from its one face, as

illustrated in Fig. i, the vertical flanges 11 and 12 of which are reenforced by sheet metal liners 14- which are preferably spot-welded both to the flanges 11 and 12 and to the base flange 13 and the upper inclined flanges 9 and 10.

Apertures are provided in the extremities of the bottom portions at 14c and furnish a means whereby casters may be applied to the rack, or a means of attaching the rack to the floor by screws. I also contemplate attaching suitable extensions not shown so that when the rack is used as an outside display it will. not be easily blown over the wind The inclined flanges 9 and 10 terminate at either side of the vertical middle of the base to admit the upright standard 1-, which is preferably of U-shaped form, and adapted to be rigidly secured to the base 2 at its inner face by bolts orthe like, projected through alignable apertures 15 of the standard and 16 and 1(5 of the base.

The handle support 17 is formed by telescoping a sheet metal strip 18 of lJ-channel form, within a more deeply channeled sheet metal strip 19 of preferably like, channeled form, which is apertured, at intervals, longitudinally of the strip, as shown at 20. The intermediate longitudinally extending portion of the channel 19 is placed over the correspendingportion of the inner underlying channel 18, and the two channels are secured together in any suitable manner, preferably by spot-welding, electrically, at spaced points suchas indicated at 21, Fig. a

Fig. l; illustrates, general y, the parts 17, l and 2 approaching the position wherein they are secured together. integral tongues 22 for the channel 19, are deflected downwardly to breach the space between the side flanges of the channel, and are provided with apertures therethrough alignable with the aperture 16 of the bases, whereby the securing bolts pass ing through the apertures 16 of the standards and 16 of the bases, may also secure in place the composite channeled handle support 17.

lVhen the standards and bases are assembled, together vith. the handle supports 17, the border flanges of the bases and of the channel standards, are turned inwardly, as shown in Fig. 1. The superstructure7 is in the form of a single piece of sheet metal of deeply channeled form, having a relatively narrow longi tudinally extending table top 6 and a pair of depending integrally formed wings 23 and 2t.

The wings preferably extend beyond the table top portion 6, this being effected by longitiulinally splitting the material of the table top 6 at its ends and laterally shearing the split portions from the longitudinal middle of the table top to the wings to provide tongues 25 and 26, which are respectively supported by the wings 28 and 2d and downfolded against the inner surfaces of said respective Wings.

T he upper edge portions of the fold comprising portions of the wings and of the tongues, are notched as shown at 27 and 28, respectively, for receiving the transversely extending shaft, such as 29. of a tool 30, whose length may depend downwardly between t-he projecting end portions of the superstructure wings 23 and 2 1- and rest against the standards 3 or 4 as the case may be, in a manner indicated for the handle 31 of the tool 30, Fig. 1.

The superstructure is supported as above stated on the upper ends of the standards 3 and 1, which are projected between the wings 23 and 2 of the superstructure, preferably inwardly from the tongues 25 and 26, the wings being apertured as at 8 to receive. bolts projected through the apertures and the alignable apertures 8 of the side flanges of the standards 8 and 4:-

A pair of advertising literature receptacles may be provided for each side of the display rack, these being secured, preferably, by up wardly extending tongues 32, to the standards 3 and 4, as the case may be, preferably by the lowermost one of the bolts 8 which secure the wings and standards together, the tongue preferably being projected between its associated wing and standard flange.

The superstructure 7 provides a display element having a pair of sign panels 51 and 52, the outer surfaces of which may be suitably lettered or decorated, to advertise, for instance, the name of the manufacturer or distributor of the tools displayed thereby.

The table top portion 6, extending longitu dinally of the rack, is apertured at spaced intervals, along its longitudinal middle line, preferably as shown at 33, to receive the handles such as 34 of garden tools which rest by their extreme handle ends upon the intermediate upper surface 35 of the channel element 17 for the support 17, being projected through the apertures 20 of the channel 19 of said support. In other words, the handles 34 are projected through aligned openings 33 and 20 of the superstructure 7 and channel supporting element- 19, and rest by their ends upon the upper surface 85 of the channel element of the support 17, which is rigidly secured to the element 19 thereof.

Short handled garden tools, as those shown at 36 and 3?, rest by their annular flanges 38 provided for their handles 39, on the border portions of the apertures 33.

Having thus described a display rack embodying the principles of my invention, 1 am aware that the precise form thereof may be varied in-substal'itially without departing essentially from the principles of my invention.

1 claim:

1. In a display rack, in combination with a display element in the form of an inverted sheet metal channel provided with a plurality of longitudinally spaced apertures in its intermediate portion, a pair of upright sheet metal standards of channel form having upper ends projected between the panels with the channels thereof turned inwardly, said standard ends secured rigidly to the display element, panels at the sides of the channeled standards, said standards spaced inwardly from the ends of the panels, a tool handle support extending between and secured at its ends in the opposite channels of the stand a-rds near their bottom ends, and a pair of supporting bases disposed at the bottom ends of the standards and secured thereto, having portions extending laterally thereof, said display element apertures adapted to receive tool handles projected therethrough, said tool support adapted to support the ends of said handles in relatively spaced relation.

2. In a display rack, in combination with a display element in the form of an inverted sheet metal channel provided with a plurality of longitudinally spaced apertures in its intermediate portion, a pair of upright sheet metal standards of channel form having up per ends projected between the panels with the channels thereof turned inwardly, said standard ends secured rigidly to the display element, panels at the sides of the channeled standards, said standards spaced inwardly from the ends of the panels, a tool handle support extending between and secured at its ends in the opposite channels of the standards near their bottom ends, and a pair of supporting bases disposed at the bottom ends of the standards and secured thereto, having portions extending laterally thereof, said display element apertures adapted to receive tool handles projected therethrough, said tool support adapted to support the ends of said handles in relatively spaced relation, the longitudinal middle port-ion of the display element being relieved at the ends, and the projecting upper edges of the panels benotched to receive a transverse element of a tool blade, said panels and the adjacent standard adapted to embrace a depending portion of the handle of said tool.

3. In a display rack, in combination with a display element in the form of an inverted sheet metal channel provided with a plurality of longitudinally spaced apertures in its intermediate portion, a pair of upright sheet metal standards of channel form having upper ends projected between the panels with the channels thereof turned inwardly, said standard ends secured rigidly to the display element, panels at the sides of the channeled standards, said standards spaced inwardly from the ends of the panels, a tool handle support extending between and secured at its ends in the opposite channels of the standards near their bottom ends, and a pair of supporting bases disposed at the bottom ends of the standards and secured thereto, having portions extending laterally thereof, said display element apertures adapted to receive tool handles projected therethrough, said tool, supportadapted to support the ends of said handles in relatively spaced relation, said handle support comprising an inverted sheet metal channel provided with a plurality of longitudinally spaced apertures disposed through its middle portion, and a strip carried the channel below said apertures adapted to support the ends of the handles.

4:. In a display rack, in combination with a display element in the form of an inverted sheet metal channel provided with a plurality of longitudinally spaced apertures in its intermediate portion, a pair of upright sheet metal standards of channel form having upper ends projected between the panels with the channels thereof turned inwardly, said standard ends secured rigidly to the display element, panels at the sides of the channeled standards, said standards spaced inwardly from the ends of the panels, a tool handle support extending between and secured at its ends in the opposite channels of the stand ards near their bottom ends, and a pair of supporting bases disposed at the bottom ends of the standards and secured thereto, having portions extending laterally thereof, said display element apertures adapted to receive tool handles projected therethrough, said tool support adapted to support the ends of said handles in relatively spaced relation, said bases being formed from a sheet of metal and having a vertical sheet portion and border flanges inturned therefrom, said standards projected through spaced upper flanges thereof and bolted by its mid portion to the vertical base.

5. In a display rack, in combination with a display element in the form of an inverted sheet metal channel provided with a plurality of longitudinally spaced apertures in its intermediate portion, a pair of upright sheet metal standards of channel form having upper ends projected between the panels with the channels thereof turned inwardly, said standard ends secured rigidly to the display element, panels at the sides of the channeled standards, said standards spaced inwardly from the ends of the panels, a tool handle support extending between and secured at its ends in the opposite channels of the standards near their bottom ends, and a pair of supporting bases disposed at the bottom ends of the standards and secured thereto, having portions extending laterally thereof, said display element apertures adapted to receive tool handles projected therethrough, said tool support adapted to support the ends of said handles in relatively spaced relation, and bolt means removably securing said standards to said channel display element, said handle support and said bases.

In testimony wherof I hereunto my signature this 23rd day of July, 1928.

GEORGE EDlVARD DUE-ELL. 

